Considering the stereotypes about Puritan New England, you might be surprised to learn that sweethearts in the 18^th century were not only allowed to sleep together before marriage – they were encouraged to! The catch? They had to do it within the parents’ home. It was known as “bundling,” and although sex was theoretically not involved, the practice coincided with a huge increase in premarital pregnancy. By the end of the century, 1/3 of all brides were pregnant by the time they reached the altar.

In this episode, the History Guys explore three centuries of pre-marital intimacy. Did economic considerations used to play a greater role in coupling? In what ways have dating practices challenged class & racial boundaries? Has the idea of “romance” itself morphed over time?

Guests Include:

• Beth Bailey, Temple University, author of From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in 20th Century America
• Pamela Epstein, blogger-in-chief, Advertising For Love

Show Segments:

Listen to individual segments from the episode.

Web Exclusive:

Extended Interview: Beth Bailey tells Brian about three generations of courtship in her own family…and why there are only two entries for the word “love” in the index of her book.

Further Reading:

Want to dig deeper into the history of dating? The BackStory team has compiled a comprehensive list of resources, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Dive in.

Whether you’re a Romney or Obama supporter, it’s likely that you would agree on one thing: the national debt – at more than 16 trillion dollars – is too large. And yet, America’s first Treasury Secretary called this debt a “national blessing.” What did he mean by that, and are there times when Americans have celebrated being in the red?

On this episode, the American History Guys ask why debt has continued to be so controversial in a nation that was founded on borrowing. What factors have contributed most to our ballooning deficit, and who, historically, has been most concerned about it? To whom does the nation owe all this money, and how has the slate of creditors changed?

Guests Include

• Bill Chrystal, Alexander Hamilton impersonator
• Julia Ott, Asst. Prof. of History, The New School

Further Reading

Want to dig deeper into Debt history? The BackStory research team has compiled a comprehensive list of resources for further exploration.

Listen to individual show segments.

Even Further….

• See the discussion that helped shape this show.
• Listing of Interstitial Music Used

Considering the stereotypes about Puritan New England, you might be surprised to learn that sweethearts in the 18^th century were not only allowed to sleep together before marriage – they were encouraged to! The catch? They had to do it within the parents’ home. It was known as “bundling,” and although sex was theoretically not involved, the practice coincided with a huge increase in premarital pregnancy. By the end of the century, 1/3 of all brides were pregnant by the time they reached the altar.

In this episode, the History Guys explore three centuries of pre-marital intimacy. Did economic considerations used to play a greater role in coupling? In what ways have dating practices challenged class & racial boundaries? Has the idea of “romance” itself morphed over time?

Guests Include:

*Beth Bailey — historian and author of From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in 20th Century America

*Pamela Epstein — historian and blogger-in-chief, Advertising For Love

Features & Highlights

Hear more about dating in the 19th and 20th centuries in these extended interviews of Pam Epstein and Beth Bailey. Listen here.

Web Exclusive

Extended Interview: Beth Bailey tells Brian Balogh about three generations of courtship in her own family…and why there are only two entries for the word “love” in the index of her book.

Further Reading

Want to dig deeper into the history of dating? The BackStory research team has compiled a comprehensive list of resources for further exploration. Read On.

]]> http://backstoryradio.org/love-me-did-a-history-of-courtship-2/feed/ 2 economic history,economy,family,racism,religion,social history In this Valentine's Day special, BackStory delves into the history of courtship. From "bundling" to the back-seat, the History Guys explore three centuries of pre-marital intimacy. (http://backstoryradio.org/files/2009/12/loves-reward1.jpg)This episode was originally broadcast (http://backstoryradio.org/love-me-did-a-history-of-courtship/) in February, 2010. Considering the stereotypes about Puritan New England, you might be surprised to learn that sweethearts in the 18th century were not only allowed to sleep together before marriage – they were encouraged to! The catch? They had to do it within the parents’ home. It was known as “bundling,” and although sex was theoretically not involved, the practice coincided with a huge increase in premarital pregnancy. By the end of the century, 1/3 of all brides were pregnant by the time they reached the altar. In this episode, the History Guys explore three centuries of pre-marital intimacy. Did economic considerations used to play a greater role in coupling? In what ways have dating practices challenged class & racial boundaries? Has the idea of “romance” itself morphed over time? Guests Include: *Beth Bailey (http://www.temple.edu/history/bailey/index.html) -- historian and author of From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in 20th Century America (http://books.google.com/books?id=fqVre9_N2gkC&dq=from+front+porch+to+back+seat+bailey&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=6htaS_yUGdGZ8Abcq_j-BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false) *Pamela Epstein (http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/node/785/index.php?content=deptmem&name=adj_epstein) -- historian and blogger-in-chief, Advertising For Love (http://www.advertisingforlove.com/) Features & Highlights Hear more about dating in the 19th and 20th centuries in these extended interviews of Pam Epstein and Beth Bailey. Listen here (http://backstoryradio.org/love-me-did-features-and-highlights/). Web Exclusive (http://backstoryradio.org/files/2010/02/kissmequick.jpg)Extended Interview: (http://backstoryradio.org/beth-bailey-extended-interview/) Beth Bailey tells Brian Balogh about three generations of courtship in her own family...and why there are only two entries for the word "love" in the index of her book. Further Reading Want to dig deeper into the history of dating? The BackStory research team has compiled a comprehensive list of resources for further exploration. Read On (http://backstoryradio.org/love-me-did-further-reading/). BackStory with the American History Guys no 54:56 http://backstoryradio.org/a-history-of-our-national-debt/ http://backstoryradio.org/a-history-of-our-national-debt/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:36:54 +0000 http://backstory.vfhblogs.org/?p=2906 “A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.” – Alexander Hamilton

With Congress at a standstill over whether to raise the nation’s borrowing limit, and the national debt approaching the size of the entire U.S. economy, you’d be hard pressed to find a politician with anything good to say about our debt.  But America’s first Treasury Secretary famously called it a “national blessing.” What did he mean by that, and are there other times in history when Americans have actually celebrated our national debt?

On this episode, the History Guys ask why debt has continued to be so controversial in a nation that was founded on borrowing. What factors have contributed most to our ballooning deficit, and who, historically, have been most concerned about it? To whom does the nation owe all this money, and how has the slate of creditors changed? Is the current debt crisis truly unprecedented? How can history help us understand the extent to which debt endangers our 21st century economy?

Guests Include

• Bill Chrystal, Alexander Hamilton impersonator
• Julia Ott, Asst. Prof. of History, The New School (When Wall Street Met Main Street: The Quest for an Investors’ Democracy)

Further Reading

Want to dig deeper into Debt history? The BackStory research team has compiled a comprehensive list of resources for further exploration.

Even Further….

• Full Show Transcript
• Listing of Interstitial Music Used

All centuries

• Politics of Debt: 10 Trillion and Counting (an interactive PBS website)
• Bureau of Public Debt (website)
• The debt clock
• See who’s physically calculating the debt
• The hidden cost of American Debt
• The Debt Ceiling, Explained
• A brief history of U.S. Debt
• Federal Reserve: Instruments of Debt (video)
• How debt those in White House
• Debt through the Ages (graphs)
• From Surplus to Massive Debt in Ten Years: How it escalated
• Where’s our money going? (graph)

18th century

• Alexander Hamilton’s First Report on Public Credit
• Hamilton’s (hypothesized) posthumous views on modern debt
• Jefferson’s Beliefs on National Debt (PDF)
• Hamilton vs Jefferson: importance of national bank (clip from John Adam’s HBO special)
• Original Intent of Debt Ceiling

19th century

• Bureau of Public Debt: 19th century overview
• Debt  + the Andrew Jackson era
• Freedom from Debt under Jackson
• Civil War at 150: Debt Lessons from Lincoln

2oth century

• 1917: the first real debt limit
• Mr & Mrs America (film attempting to Mobilize the home-front in WWII)
• Propaganda: Buy War bonds to save from Nazis
• FDR shows how to buys bonds
• Egg & Us: 1950′s film urging Americans to help pay off debt

In this episode, the History Guys explore three centuries of pre-marital intimacy. Did economic considerations used to play a greater role in coupling? In what ways have dating practices challenged class & racial boundaries? Has the idea of “romance” itself morphed over time?

Guests Include:

*Beth Bailey — historian and author of From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in 20th Century America

*Pamela Epstein — historian and blogger-in-chief, Advertising For Love

Features & Highlights

Hear more about dating in the 19th and 20th centuries in these extended interviews of Pam Epstein and Beth Bailey. Listen here.

Web Exclusive

Extended Interview: Beth Bailey tells Brian Balogh about three generations of courtship in her own family…and why there are only two entries for the word “love” in the index of her book.

Further Reading

Want to dig deeper into the history of dating? The BackStory research team has compiled a comprehensive list of resources for further exploration. Read On.

Valentine’s Day:

• Historian Stephanie Coontz sets the record straight on the history of Valentine’s Day
• Love, bon bons, and a brutal massacre
• The bidding is on for antique valentines at the National Valentine Collectors Association

18th Century:

• Love in ye olden days: Courtship, Sex, and the Single Colonist at Colonial Williamsburg
• A little lesson in bundling, plus a book-length treatment from 1871
• Historian Richard Godbeer’s eye-opening book, Sexual Revolution in Early America
• Overview of courtship in early America

19th Century:

• Courtship & the enslaved: books by Brenda Stevenson and Rebecca Fraser
• A collection of love letters from the Civil War
• Relationship advice from 1890
• A man’s advice to the “newly married lady” (1808)

20th Century & Beyond:

• A scandalous Edison film of two Victorian lovers “sparkin’” (kissing)
• Etiquette guru Emily Post on how to write a love letter (1922)
• Sex and tech: the blog of author Regina Lynn
• A film from the vaults reveals the wild world of cyber dating in 1997
• Educational films from the 1950s: This Charming Couple (1950);Choosing for Happiness (1950); Is This Love? (1957); How Do You Know It’s Love? (1950); How Much Affection? (1958)

Check out the music in our “Love Me Did” show.

Pam Epstein: 19th Century Personal Ads — Pam Epstein shares some of her favorite 19th century personal ads.

Beth Bailey: Origins of Dating — Beth Bailey talks about the origins of dating and its 20th century evolution.

SPECIAL WEB EXTRA: Beth Bailey tells Brian about three generations of courtship in her own family… and why there are only two entries for the word “love” in the index of her book.

Pam Epstein, a PhD candidate in history at Rutgers University and author of the blog Advertising for Love, shares some of her favorite 19th century personal ads with BackStory’s 19th Century Guy, Ed Ayers.

Excerpted from: Love Me Did: A History of Courtship

Duet Solo Dancers
Charles Mingus
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

Waltz No.10 in B minor, Op.69 No.2
Alice Sara Ott
Chopin Complete Waltzes

Piano Op. 12: Salut D’ Amour
Pablo Casals
My First Record

Great Big Bundle of Love
Brenton Wood
Brenton Wood’s 18 Best

My Funny Valentine
Artie Shaw
A Jazz Valentine

Love the One You’re With
The Supremes
Magnificent: The Complete Studio Duets

Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)
Beyoncé
I Am…Sasha Fierce

Love Me Do
The Skatalites
Ska Mania

Love and Marriage
Frank Sinatra
This is Sinatra

Show Highlights:

• Boom & Bust — Michael Bernstein explains the difference between the Great Depression and the myriad financial panics of the 19th century, as well as the amnesia that ignores the realities of the business cycle.
• Glorious Riches — Scott Nelson outlines the eerie similarities between 1873 and 2008, and explains how Christian fundamentalism is rooted in financial collapse.

Related Links

• Learn more about panics and depressions before 1929.
• Experience déjà vu all over again with Scott Nelson’s description of the 1873 Panic.
• Read the proto-fundamentalist sermons of Dwight Moody.
• Browse a collection of current articles about the history of panics.
• Find out about the origins of our abstract economic system.

It seems like everyone owes money these days. But two hundred years ago, debt was considered not simply an economic failing, but a moral one. It could even land you in prison! In this hour, we look at how debt became the American way of life. Economic historian Louis Hyman argues that you and I aren’t to blame for our financial straits. We also hear from Thomas Jefferson, who, thanks to poor planning and a penchant for French furniture, died over $100,000 in the hole.

Show Highlights

(Not so) Personal Debt
Louis Hyman talks about the structural changes that led to record levels of personal debt in the late 20th century. It’s not that Americans are more willing to go into debt than they used to be, he says, but rather that they are no longer able to pay that debt off.

Related Links

• Learn more from PBS about the credit card
• Read a share cropper’s description of work after the Civil War
• Check out a financial history blog
• Thomas Jefferson in debt

For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 American adults is behind bars. For African-Americans, that figure is one in 15. In this hour, the History Guys ask whether we’ve always been so fond of the lock & key, and look at how our prison system has been structured in the past. Washington DC Corrections Director Devon Brown discusses the racial disparity, and historian Rebecca McLennan explains why 19th century prison labor was not only central to America’s penal system, but also to its economy. And we head out to the side of the highway to speak with some members of the local jail’s work gang.

Show Highlights

• Chain Gang, Revisited — 20th Century History Guy Brian Balogh spends some time on the side of the highway with the work crew from Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. He asks whether prisoners see their work as public humiliation or reward for good behavior.
• A Debt to Society — Historian Rebecca McLennan explains why 19th century prison labor was not only central to America’s penal system, but also to its economy.

Related Links

Learn more from PBS about the credit card

Read a share cropper’s description of work after the Civil War

Check out a financial history blog